Team Canada coach Dave Cameron makes his feelings known about stunning setback to Latvia at WJC

Team Canada was stunned in its second preliminary round game of the IIHF World Junior Championships by Team Latvia on Friday. The European team earned a shootout win after the game ended 2-2 in regulation.

The game was in stark contrast to last year's game between both these opponents where Latvia were demolished by its opponents 10-0. Canada was coming off a 4-0 win against a strong Finland side in the opening game.

The Canadians started off the game in the right footing but failed to score from their 12 shots in the first period. They were even more relentless in the second and third with 20 and 18 shots on goal, respectively, but only found the net twice through Jet Luchanko and Calum Ritchie, with Latvian goalie Linards Feldbergs saving the day.

In overtime, Feldbergs made eight more saves in a dead heat shootout till Eriks Mateiko finished the job and gave his country a famous win.

After the game, Canadian coach Dave Cameron applauded Latvia's astuteness.

"Full marks to Latvia," Cameron said. "We had 56 shots. What they didn't block, their goalie blocked. I don't know what the [offensive] zone time would be, but we spent most of the game in their zone and we weren't able to generate enough offense.

He also said the Latvian defense deserved more of the credit because his team were zeroed in offensively but all its attacks were thwarted.

"We probably play that game, we win nine out of 10 times. So it's not so much about what we didn't do, but what Latvia did," Cameron added.

Latvian goalie Linards Feldbergs puts behind last year's game

When Latvia was beaten 10-0 on Dec. 27, 2023, it was Linards Feldbergs standing in goal. Cut to this current edition of the World Juniors, Feldbergs has certainly rejuvenated himself. His 55 shots blocked will forever be remembered in Latvian hockey folklore.

"It wasn't on my mind," Feldbergs said. "This is a new year, new game. So I was just doing my thing, and that was it."

Feldbergs' and rest of the team's performance will certainly instill a lot of confidence in the team as it looks to finish better than the 2023-24 tournament, where it won just one out of four games in the opening round and was comprehensively beaten by eventual champions Team USA in the quarters.